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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 12:25:06 GMT -5
Monkuta nodded. "Rest," he said. "I'll figure out our next move."
He walked over to the man with an arrow in his knee. He kicked him to the ground and ripped the arrow out, but not before plunging it deep enough to ensure that this man would never use the leg again. He replaced it in his bow, aiming at the man's head and hovered over the him.
"You're going to tell us who you are and where you came from, or this arrow will enter every part of your body before death comes to you," he said quietly. He could do it, and he would. "Answer me!" he shouted, letting some spit from his mouth leave and hit the man in the face.
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Post by ivory on Jun 26, 2009 12:35:09 GMT -5
Galon gritted his teeth at the arrow's exit and entrance. And then he smiled and finally laughed at the man's threat. "You forgot something boy," he spat out the last word with obvious venom. "I'm a fighter." And with that, he pulled the last of his knives from his waist and slit his own neck. He died with a triumphet, wicked smile upon his face.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 12:49:55 GMT -5
Monkuta scrunched his face. "Son of a..." he screamed in rage and brought his foot down upon the corpse's head. Then he found himself again, taking a deep breath and replacing the arrow in his quiver. he turned around and walked back to Lea. Had they the time, he would have scoured the forest for all of his missing arrows, but he needed no such diversion right now. "Got any ideas?" he asked glumly.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 26, 2009 15:13:33 GMT -5
"You might check that pit yonder. One of them fell in it. But watch it, on this corner is a snare that is still set. I would be careful of that decaying body too. I think it is booby trapped. It is about 10 feet this side of the pit."
Lea moaned a bit as she pulled herself to her feet. Dougal wouldn't have even allowed her that few minutes to catch her breath. She went around to all the bodies and gathered up her knives and what arrows she could find. One of them had a split shaft, that was the one that had hit the tree trunk, but she would give it to the ranger anyway.
"By the way, what is your name, Ranger?" Lea asked as she looted the bodies. She didn't find anything but a couple coppers and the weapons they had been carrying.
She retrieved her sack that she had lost during the handsprings across the grassy area. She wanted to go back to their starting point and get the rest of their knives, but didn't think they had time.
While the ranger was inspecting the pit, she tried to follow the tracks left by the last guy that had escaped. She wasn't a great tracker, though. Maybe the ranger would have better luck. She went back to the pit and helped him find out if the guy inside was still alive or not.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 15:26:03 GMT -5
Monkuta nodded in thanks when she returned his arrows to him. He still didn't have all of them, but he would find more eventually. Twenty-two would last him plenty of time. He headed over to the pit, careful of the traps she had mentioned and, sure enough, one man was at the bottom of the pit, clawing at the walls. He was hardly as composed as any of the others had been. He wouldn't be slitting his own throat today.
Answering her question, Monkuta turned to Lea and replied, "I am Monkuta Jakys. My apprentice is Marina Che-" he stopped himself, almost saying her true surname. "Marina McOwen... You'll have to excuse her occasional hardheadedness." ((that's all one word, who knew?)) Then he returned his attention to the man in the pit, who had noticed them by now and was shouting obscene threats and begging them to let him out. Quite the odd combination of speech.
"State your name," he said calmly. It helped paint him as an authority figure when he didn't raise his voice, instead forcing others to lower theirs.
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Post by ivory on Jun 26, 2009 16:30:47 GMT -5
"Get me out," he retorted to the man above him, eyes flaming anger as he craned his neck to look up at the ranger. He knew that if they left him here he'd die. They'd been in charge of checking the traps every few days and now that they were all dead and gone there'd be no one except a passerby to help him out. And if they decided to cover it back up, no passerby would ever find him unless they too fell down the pit.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 16:39:57 GMT -5
Monkuta kicked some dirt into the pit, hitting the man in the face. "Get me out," he repeated, scratching his chin. "Are you sure that's your name? If it isn't, you'd best rethink your statement before we leave you here to die. We could just follow your tracks back to wherever you came from, but right now, you have a chance to live. Take it."
It was a bluff. Too much had happened. Too much confusion. It would take them days to work through each set of tracks and figure out which ones belonged to these people. He hoped that this particular man didn't realize that.
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Post by ivory on Jun 26, 2009 16:57:51 GMT -5
Nocul spat out the dirt that had landed in his mouth and started to begin a stream of curses when the ranger's offer clicked a bargain. He wondered briefly if they'd actually help him out, but figured that since he was a ranger after all, they were bound by their word, which made them weak. Or so he thought.
"I'm Nocul. Now get me out of here."
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 17:01:13 GMT -5
Monkuta knelt over the hole, his cloak casting a rather ominous shadow over Nocul and his surroundings. He wagged his finger at him. "Now, that's hardly polite. Let's talk a little, Nocul. Where are you from? What do you do for a living?"
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Post by ivory on Jun 26, 2009 17:11:10 GMT -5
He glared at him, but answered nonetheless. "I'm originally from Norgate, but moved here sixteen years ago. I obviously work as a bandit. What does it look like? I sell to the Skandians. They pay well for slaves." It wasn't the complete truth, but how would he know? "Is that enough information or do you need to know my favorite color too?"
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 17:16:27 GMT -5
((Skandians, lol, not Scandavians))
Monkuta kicked some more dirt into the hole, deliberately missing. He just wanted to remind the man what he could do to him. "I don't know, Nocul. I think you might be lying to me. I don't like liars. They tend to get buried alive where I come from. Maybe you want to make sure that what you're telling me the truth," he said loudly.
He was quite sure that the man was lying. When he'd mentioned his buyers, he averted his gaze from Monkuta's. "Maybe we should get a little more specific," he said. "Where were you planning to take us?"
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Post by ivory on Jun 26, 2009 17:37:07 GMT -5
[yeah, yeah. *grin* Thnx, knew I wasn't spelling it right, but didn't know the correct one. ^-^]
He started to curse when more dirt hit his face but that thing about 'buried alive' had him shutting up quick and easy.
"Look. They said they'd kill me if I tell. I'm sorry. Just trying to keep alive you know. Didn't mean any harm. But I'll cut you a deal. You get me out of here and I'll tell you everything you need to know okay?"
"Maybe we should get a little more specific. Where were you planning to take us?"
Nocul opened and closed his mouth before opening it again with the truth. "Making a little money. World's hard these days. You can't work an honest job and really live. Not with the good goods anyways. Just trying to live okay you know?" He hurried on with answering the actual question at Monkuta's stare. "Diablo's taking her to the arena. She won't garner much, hardly worth the trouble, fur us anyway. That jerk will get it all himself since he's the only one alive right and well, he's there and we'll not anyways. He always lies about the price anyways, cuts off our share. Still, the pays still good. That's why I keep with it, you know? Just want to live a litte. Now you going to help me out or what?"
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 17:41:08 GMT -5
Monkuta perked up at the mention of an arena. He leaned in close over the pit. To Nocul, he would probably look more like the shadow of a monster than a person now, with his cloak and the trees warping his figure. "Not just yet," he said in a low voice. "Tell me about the arena. What is it? How do you get there?"
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Post by ivory on Jun 26, 2009 18:00:12 GMT -5
Nocul winced. He was dead for sure, but if Diablo had left in a hurry then he most likely wouldn't have taken all the goods there. He could just take those and disappear. Mind made up, he answered.
"It's in the Southern Cliffs. There's only one way to get there. It's by boat and the entrance is hidden amongst the cliffs. Just follow the people. It'll be a trickle of them since they don't want to be spotted. You'll come across a set of caves. I don't know my way around them, so you'll have to wing it. If you see lamps you're headed in the right direction. There's a village underground too. Take the stairs up to go to the stadiums. Down to the place where the fighters are held. I've only been down there a few times, so I don't have it memorized. That's all I know, I swear. I don't know where they take the newbies at first, but they all make their way down there." After a slight hesitation he went on to ask, "And if anyone asks, you'll tell them I'm dead right?"
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 26, 2009 18:03:52 GMT -5
Monkuta was satisfied with that answer. It was far too detailed to be a lie in the state of panic he appeared to be in. He nodded. "Of course, Nocul," he said, standing up again. "Tell me, where do you go from here? I can't very well let you out of this hole of you're off to go kill and steal some more, you know? Do I have your word that from here on, you'll go straight?"
He doubted it would work, but it was worth a try. He glanced at Lea, wondering what she thought of the situation.
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